Teaching Indonesian as Foreign Language

in Indonesia: Impact of Professional Managerial on

Process and Student Outcomes

Kundharu Saddhono

Universitas Sebelas Maret

Surakarta, Indonesia

kundharu.uns@gmail.com

Abstract— Indonesian language has now become a part of

popular languages in the world. Therefore it is a need to be an

effort for learning Indonesian language for foreign speakers can

be performed well. To conduct the learning process properly,

professional management is needed. BIPA program management

consists of various aspects; both of the BIPA program organizers,

students, faculty, and other supporting aspects. The study on

BIPA program managers was conducted in 10 provinces in

Indonesia, namely Padang, Medan, Jakarta, Bandung, Solo,

Malang, Denpasar, Lombok, Makassar and Banjarmasin. The

results of the study show that professional and integrated

management will produce satisfactory results. Foreign students

quickly master Indonesian language due to good and right

professional management. The management related to the

learning process is organized in BIPA program. Of course, a

series of learning activities and cultural practices also become an

integral part in the process of mastering their language

competence and learning Indonesian culture. Thus the

organization of BIPA program will be more professional and its

performance can be measured properly.

Keywords— Teaching Indonesian as Foreign Language,

Professional Managerial, Student Outcomes, Indonesian Culture

I. INTRODUCTION

Since it is established as national language in Sumpah

Pemuda (The National Youth Oath), 28 October 1928, and

determined as country language in the Constitution verse 36,

Indonesian language has been rapidly developing. The

development has been made Indonesian language as the

symbol of nation’s identity and as a unifying device of many

ethnic groups with their own social backgrounds, cultures,

beliefs, and local languages. In addition, Indonesian language

has also fulfilled its function as modern communication device

in governmental implementation, education, and science,

technology and art development. [1]

Bahasa Indonesia bagi Penutur Asing (BIPA) or Teaching

Indonesian as Foreign Language in Indonesia (in English), in

the past few years, becomes an interesting topic. [2] Foreign

countries, especially Economic Community, are racing to study

Indonesian language in order to face Asean Economic

Community (AEC). Indonesia is the greatest market segment

due to Indonesians’ consumptive culture. However, AEC is

agreed and Indonesian people should prepare themselves to

face free market.

In relation to that issue, Indonesian language is being taught

to foreigners in many institutions, both in Indonesia and

overseas. In Indonesia, there are not less than 45 institutions

teaching Indonesian language for foreigners, whether they are

in Universities or language course institutions. In the other

hand, outside Indonesia, BIPA has been being taught in about

36 countries in the world with not less than 130 institutions

consisting of universities, foreign cultural centers, Republic

Indonesia Embassy, and language course institutions.

The proposed curriculum in international conference of

BIPA IV classified the purpose of studying Indonesian

language into two objectives; (1) General Objectives: BIPA

students understand that Indonesian language as national

identity symbol of Indonesia, BIPA students understand

Indonesian language linguistically (pronunciation, phonology,

morphology, syntax, and vocabulary), BIPA students are able

to use Indonesian language according to its style receptively

and productively, and BIPA students are able to appreciate

Indonesian literature and its types (prose, poem, drama, song

lyric). (2) Particular Objectives: being able to pronounce word

and sentence properly with proper intonation that fits its

meaning, being able to use standardized orthographic

Indonesian language, being able to use various prefix, suffix,

and infix according to its meaning properly, being able to use

words according to its meaning, being able to get and use

synonym, antonym, and homonym, being able to understand

that same form can have more than one meanings, being able

to know and enjoy poem, prose, and Indonesian drama, being

able to accept message and feeling from others and then

respond it in oral and written form, being able to express

feeling, opinion, dream, and experience in oral and written

form depending on its media, being able to interact and have

relationship with others orally depending on the situation, and

being able to enjoy and capture the message contained in

poem, prose, drama, and song lyric. [3]

II. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This research is descriptive qualitative; analyzing data

about the interest of foreign university students who study

Indonesian language through BIPA program held by 12

universities and language centers in Indonesia together with

their organizers. The data of this research was gained from

literature review, observation, and interview with BIPA

organizer in every university where BIPA is implemented.

Events, event settings, and interview results were gained by

conducting purposive sampling technique. After the data were

6th International Conference on Educational, Management, Administration and Leadership (ICEMAL2016)

Copyright © 2016, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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collected, the data were then validated using triangulation.

Triangulation is process of checking data credibility by using

several data collection technique and several sources of data.

[4] This triangulation technique is divided into three types;

triangulation with source, triangulation with method, and

triangulation with theory. [5]

III. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

BIPA program in Sebelas Maret University is under the

management of International Office (IO) UNS. However, the

learning implementation is under UPT P2B (UNS Language

Center). Historically, BIPA learning process in UNS started in

academic year 2010-2011. Its first class was on October 2010.

For now, BIPA students are all foreign students of UNS

registered in every academic year through all channels and

scholarship including those who are candidate of post-graduate

students. The students are classified based on special selection

by UNS Team and Developing Countries Partnership

scholarship. Furthermore, BIPA teaching staffs in UNS are

Indonesian language lecturers from Faculty of Teaching and

Education and from Faculty of Language and Culture. In

addition, BIPA learning program has already used cultural

aspect consistently. The lecturers also always increase

innovative learning process as teaching. [6] It can be seen from

BIPA activities in UNS which are coordinated by International

Office. There are Goes to the Village and Cultural Night as the

medium to introduce different cultures of several countries

involved. BIPA in UNS has also had its learning material

which is improved and published by UNS Language Center.

Yet there are still revisions needed. BIPA learning mechanism

in UNS under UNS Language Center are described as follows:

(1) Simple pre-test on Indonesian language competence, (2)

Teaching and learning implementation in 6 levels (BIPA for

Beginner I-IV and BIPA for Academic Purposes I-II), (3) Each

level takes 22 meetings; 90 minutes per meeting, (4) Each level

includes 8 times face-to-face tutorials (2 x @ 90 minutes per

week) which are in the form of outdoor activities supervised by

the tutor in order to deepen the students’ competence in

Indonesian language by having conversation on several topics,

(5) proficiency post-test officially known as the Test of

Indonesian as a Foreign Language (TOIFL) from the Language

Center.

BIPA learning in UNS is divided into several major levels.

Firstly, Beginner Level (Beginner I-IV) which gives basic

introduction to Indonesian language, language threshold

competence, and four basic language competences (writing,

reading, observing, and speaking). Secondly, Academic Level

(Academic I-II) which prepares foreign students to be able to

use Indonesian language in academic purposes; to be able to

use four language competences altogether in receiving

information from classes, writing papers, presenting, and

absorbing information from textbooks.

BIPA program in Indonesia University of Educatioan

(UPI) is under the management of Universitas Pendidikan

Indonesia Language Center and is available on

www.bipaupi.org. BIPA students in UPI are from Korea,

Japan, Thailand, and other countries. As it is in other

universities, BIPA program in UPI refers to university’s

Language Center regulations. They apply innovative teaching

and learning methods. It is related to a study conducted by

Korean student. [7] In the implementation, there is specific

characteristic in the management of UPI’s BIPA. The

uniqueness of BIPA program in UPI is on the regulation of

Balai Bahasa UPI that sends all BIPA students to study in the

Department of Indonesian Language and Literature under the

Faculty of Language and Arts in UPI. The regulation aims to

help BIPA students to study the language directly by having

direct interaction with Indonesian native speakers (lecturers

and native students). By doing this, BIPA students in UPI will

be able to improve their Indonesian language competence.

BIPA program in State University of Malang (UM) is

under the management of Language and Culture Center

Faculty of Literature, UM. Annual program proposal, syllabus,

teaching material, learning method, learning implementation,

and learning evaluation are proposed by Language and Culture

Center UM. [8] BIPA students of UM are also various like

those who study in other universities. Not only from

scholarship students, BIPA students in UM are also from

Developing Countries Partnership Scholarship and

independent class which are directly managed by Language

and Culture Center UM. By having that kind of management,

they hope that BIPA program is centered and can be controlled

well. While BIPA program’s teachers are not only those who

have Indonesian language educational background, but also

those who come from departments other than Indonesian

Language Department.

BIPA program in Udayana University is under the

management Udayana University Language and Culture

Center and is available on http://bipaunud.org. BIPA students

of Udayana University come from Korea, Japan, Thailand,

Rusia, and some other countries due to Bali’s image as the

destination of ‘adventurer’ from abroad including those who

do not come only for tourism interest. BIPA program

implementation also refers to the National Language Center

regulation even there are some improvements in learning

implementation aspect focusing on tourism and local Balinese

culture. In its learning implementation, the uniqueness is on

outdoor activities done by BIPA students. They interact

directly with Balinese people by using Indonesian language.

Generally, BIPA implementation in UNP is not running

well. It is because of its unclear management which is handled

by Indonesian Language Department of UNP. Moreover there

is interference from foreign party, Australia. It can be seen

from http://www.unp.ac.id/node/654/feed-items that BIPA

program in UNP partners with Deakin University, Australia.

All of BIPA learning tools such as curriculum, syllabus, and

teaching material are all prepared by Deakin University. There

is also local culture content integrated in all teaching and

learning tools. However, there are some better improvements

needed both in the BIPA program management and its

teaching material.

BIPA in North Sumatra is managed by Special Division of

BIPA which conducts BIPA holistically for foreign students

and is available on http://balaibahasa-

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sumut.com/index.php/layanan/bipa.html. Based on observation

in North Sumatra, it is understood that BIPA program

implementation is handled directly by North Sumatra Province

Language Center. The implementation is conducted by

partnering with Universitas Sumatera Utara. Concretely, all

BIPA students are encouraged to go to North Sumatera

Language Center to study Indonesian language. The teachers

use good teaching materials. It is well arranged and easy to

understand. It also contains local culture values which make

BIPA program implementation become more interesting.

BIPA program in Universitas Negeri Makassar (UNM) is

under the management of UNM Language Center which has a

special division to take a good care and manage BIPA

program. It can be said that the management of BIPA in UNM

is good. Its learning method is also innovative. [9] It is

indicated by management system which is directly handled by

Language Center so that the materials they use are well

standardized. Teaching staffs in this program also have good

competence, both theoretically and practically. Globally, the

data gained from BIPA program in UNM points out that this

program is implemented well and they have good teaching

materials. Special thing on the implementation of BIPA

program in UNM is on the dominancy of teaching staffs from

English Teaching Department. However, this phenomenon

does not distract learning process because they share same

basic knowledge about linguistics.

BIPA in Lambung Mangkurat University is under the

management of Universitas Lambung Mangkurat Banjarmasin

International Office (IO). Mono-teaching-staffs are lecturers

from Department of Indonesian Language Studies so the

implementation of BIPA is directly handled by this

department. BIPA program in Lambung Mangkurat University

shows that it is not good enough. It is seen from the facts that

BIPA learning process is sporadic. It is also unwell

conditioned. Moreover, teaching materials and curriculum for

BIPA program are still adopted another program. Furthermore,

there is lack of scientific approach in conducting BIPA which

becomes a barrier in its implementation.

BIPA in Unismuh Makassar is under the management of

International Office (IO). Generally, BIPA program in

Unismuh Makassar runs well. It has teaching materials from

Language Center. The materials consist of eight modules

which can be accessed via online and printed. It has actual and

factual contents. One of the constraints of BIPA program in

Unismuh Makassar is on its little number of BIPA students;

about 10 students per year. Furthermore, BIPA students find it

hard to adapt to local culture of Indonesia, especially in terms

of their etiquette toward people.

BIPA program in Universitas Indonesia (UI) is under the

management of International Language Center of the Faculty

of Language and Culture UI. BIPA students in UI are from

Korea, Japan, Thailand, Rusia and other countries. The

implementation of BIPA program in UI aims at academic

purposes. The objectives of BIPA manager in UI are to prepare

BIPA students to study in UI, to work in Indonesia, and in

specific purpose such as to marry Indonesian and live in

Indonesia as housewife, for instance, etc. The final purpose of

BIPA program is that they will have Indonesian language

competence. On the other hand, BIPA program in UI also

opens special program which is adjusted to market needs on

learning Indonesian language.

Regular program is conducted within 16 weeks, from

January to May and August to December. This program is done

in one year. In class meetings are 15 hours per week, on

Monday to Friday, at 09.00am – 12.15 pm. There is also outing

class for regular program. It is one day field experience trip to

visit several places around UI and even outside Java Island.

This outing class can be conducted in schools, Taman Mini

Indonesia Indah, TV stations, factories, prisons, or government

offices. This activity aims to train BIPA students in beginner

level and to give them opportunity to practice Indonesian

language directly with local people.

BIPA program in UI consists of three levels; (10

Elementary (BIPA I), in this beginner level, the students will

practice conversation every day, they also learn about

Indonesian culture so that this cultural knowledge will deepen

their communication skill using Indonesian language in many

contexts; (2) intermediate (BIPA II), in relation to the main

objective of studying Indonesian language in terms of speaking

and writing competences using Indonesian language properly.

In order to achieve these competences, learning process will be

conducted through discussion, verbal presentation, and

descriptive writing methods; (3) advance (BIPA III) will

empower students to be able to involve in discussion and

writing essay about several topics related to Indonesian people

and culture, law issues of Indonesia, Indonesian politics, and

Indonesian economy condition.

The implementation of BIPA in UI is conducted in a

discipline way. It can be seen from the developing curriculum

according to the developing eras and heterogeneous BIPA

students. In addition, teaching materials which are prepared

based on students’ needs and the four Indonesian language

basic competences. Further, the implementation of BIPA is

conducted on time and the students are enthusiastically joining

different classes based on the school arrangement. In class, the

students have their academic supervisor so they can consult

their academic supervisor and ask for a help in relation to

Indonesian language studies. There will be a punishment for

those students who do not follow the rules and rarely join the

classes affecting their staying permit in Indonesia because UI

Language Center also partners with Indonesian Immigration

office.

BIPA program of UI also has extracurricular activities

which help to ease the students in learning Indonesian

language. By joining BIPA program of UI, the students not

only study about language, but they also join beneficial

extracurricular activities such as traditional music class,

dancing class, and batik painting class. These activities are

conducted in the evenings. In traditional music class, the

students will learn traditional songs in the local dialect and

popular songs in Indonesian language. In dancing class, the

students will learn to dance traditional dances from one of

Indonesian areas. In batik painting class, the students not only

learn about basic principal of the making of traditional batik

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clothes, but they also experience the process of making batik

themselves and make their own batik clothes. In the end of

fiscal year, the students also have the opportunity to perform

their skills in BIPA graduation ceremony. This graduation

ceremony can be media for the students to perform their

creativities and skills to acculturate Indonesian culture on

them. In other words, everyone who comes to this graduation

witnessed the students’ achievements.

BIPA in Universitas Negeri Jakarta (UNJ) is under the

management of Its International Office (IO). The teaching

staffs of BIPA in UNJ are varies and majority from Indonesian

language Department. BIPA implementation in UNJ generally

runs well. Many studies has been conducted in relation to

BIPA teaching materials in UNJ. [10] It is indicated by the

achievement of the students that they are able to communicate

in Indonesian language after joining one semester of BIPA

class even it is conducted in big class. In addition, BIPA

learning process is also conducted specifically. It can facilitate

all students according to placement test result, even there are

only little number of students in one class. The materials used

in BIPA program has been in line with Common European

Framework of Reference (CEFR) which is adjusted to the field

needs. BIPA program in UNJ also has its uniqueness; BIPA

for elementary students in Taipei School. However, in its

implementation in Taipei School, there is still some

constraints in terms of Indonesian language acquisition

because they do not use Indonesian language in their daily

conversation.

In West Timor Language Center, there is an organization

named Malfi. It stands for Mataram Lingua Franca Indonesia

located in Language Center. Other than in Language Center,

there is also BIPA program conducted in Nyumun. BIPA

learning program in Nyumun is categorized into two learning

categories; Indonesian language for foreign workers and

national language for local workers. Teaching and learning

process is conducted based on 2013 curriculum and is

integrated to local culture. BIPA in West Timor Language

Center has problem dealing with limited teaching staffs. There

are only six teachers. Moreover, the teaching materials are

hard to digest by the students due to its high level of language

used and inconsistency.

IV. CONCLUSION

BIPA implementation in several universities in Indonesia

has been running well and systematically based on learning

system applied on each university. However there are some

parts of the implementation which need to be given more

attention and to be investigated deeper in terms of its

management, teaching staffs, and teaching materials used.

Considering the main objective of BIPA that BIPA students

suppose to master four basic competences in terms of using

Indonesian language correctly and properly. It can be seen that

there are three levels of learning Indonesian language for

BIPA students. The class leveling system aims to introduce

Indonesian language from the very basic or simple one into the

complex one so that the BIPA students have the skills of using

Indonesian language correctly and properly in their daily lives

and in public forum. Ideally, BIPA program is managed

specifically by language based organization and is not

managed by university department or International Office. In

addition, BIPA learning program which integrates culture and

language in the learning process done by some universities in

Indonesia are adding students’ knowledge about local culture

as they study the language. Furthermore, there are cultural

nights in the end of the year as the closing of BIPA program in

several universities in Indonesia.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The author expressed his gratitude to the Indonesian

Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP), the Ministry of

Finance, the Republic of Indonesia and LPPM Sebelas Maret

University for MRG Grant with Contract Number

632/UN27.21/LT/2016

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